Bouchard nationals bound

Kolleen Bouchard
By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    For the second year in a row, the Houlton Parks and Recreation Department is sending a youth to the Hershey Track and Field Games North American Final in Hershey, Pa.
    Kolleen Bouchard, daughter of Marty and Karen Bouchard of Houlton, will compete in a field event at the nationals.
    “It feels pretty good,” Bouchard said of her accomplishment. “I’m pretty excited.”
    Since the Hershey Track and Field program’s inception, Collin York, Elizabeth Nelson, Ellie Anderson, Brandon Clark, Isaac Cone, Emily Mooers and now, Bouchard from Houlton have qualified for the national competition, along with Carrie Edwards and Jodi Quint of Hodgdon. Names could be missing from others, but memory served up the previous names.
    “For just practicing for five weeks before competing in the district and state competitions, our kids do very well,” said Marie Carmichael, activities coordinator at the recreation department. “For a town that doesn’t have a track and field program, the community has been represented very well over the years. We are proud of Kolleen and we are anxious to see how she does.”
    Bouchard will represent Maine in the softball throw in the 9-10-year-old age division at the games to be played at the Henry Hershey Field on the campus of the Milton Hershey School.
    “She was pretty excited when she received the news,” said Bouchard’s father Marty. “Kyle and Kolleen have both done well in the softball throw over the years in Hershey competition. So, we always thought both of them had an outside chance, but when Kathy Mazzuchelli (Hershey coordinator from Caribou) called and said Kolleen had finished first in Region 6 that was pretty cool.”
    Participants representing all 50 states as well as all 10 provinces and three territories of Canada are eligible to qualify for the North American Finals, which this year will be held Aug. 5-8 in Hershey, Pa.
    Youngsters competing in Maine are part of the Region 6 team, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island as well as all the Atlantic provinces. To ensure fair representation of all 50 states and Canadian provinces and territories, a minimum of five finalists are selected from each state/provincial group to be part of the regional team attending the North American Final.
Contributed photograph
GOOD FORM – Kolleen Bouchard lets the ball fly during the softball throwing event at the Hershey Track and Field state meet in Bangor.
    Bouchard will be competing in the softball throw, an event her brother also competed in at the state level, where he tossed the ball 156-feet, 5-inches.
    “He throws harder and with more acceleration,” she said.”He is just a really good thrower. But, I think I can follow in his footsteps though.”
    Bouchard finished first in the districts in Caribou with a throw of 99 feet, seven inches, but at the state Hershey Track and Field Meet in Bangor, she extended her distance for a throw of 101 feet, 4 inches. She thinks she may be able to beat her best distance by psyching herself up before her event.
    “Once I got mad at my brother and threw 120 feet,” she laughed. “So, I think that is what I can do.”
    While in Hershey, Bouchard and her family will participate in four days of activities, including touring the chocolate factory and going to Hershey Park. On competition day, she will get a chance to meet Olympic and national track and field stars.
    “I’m looking forward to Hershey Park,” she said. “I have never been there before.”
    The Hershey Company sponsors the national event, featuring more than 500 of the best young track and field athletes in North America.
    “I don’t know what the competition will be like,” Bouchard said, who equates it to being like a “championship in basketball though.”
    Last week, she and her family were in Virginia Beach watching her brother compete in an AAU national basketball event, but she integrated a unique workout.
    “While I was at the beach, I threw,” she said. “At first, I started out throwing short and then I starting throwing out longer and longer.”
    Bouchard also competed in the 50-meter dash and 4×100 relay.